Who I Am
by ChocolateEclar
Summary: “You love ruining my life, don’t you?” moaned Holly. Artemis’s memory has returned, but, with a new leader belowground, his little sister is now being used for ransom. A full mindwipe or his sister? Will the LEP assist the Mud Boy after all he's d
1. Psych Assessements by Prof J Argon

**Who I Am**

_By: ChocolateEclar_

Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis (though I'd like to) or Holly or Foaly or Root or the rest of the LEP or Butler or Juliet or Mulch or… Yeah, you get the idea.

Claimer: I do own wittle Ashling though, so don't steal!

* * *

**Artemis Fowl: A Psychological Assessment **

**from "The Teenage Years, Pt. 2"**

_by Prof. J. Argon, Brotherhood of Psychologists_

_Commissioned by the Lower Elements Police_

Although this case had been supposed to be closed after our subject, Artemis Fowl, was mindwiped – that has proven to be only for a period of two and a half years. In those years in between, Artemis Fowl managed to continue his criminal activities even under the watchful eye of his parents. It is known that they were also preoccupied by the birth of a second child, Ashling (Aisling) Catriona Fowl (IV). This child is subject to a later investigation.

Although Artemis knew nothing of the People any longer, the LEPrecon still kept a close eye on him. Perhaps not enough was done to keep him from remembering though. On Artemis's sixteenth birthday, all came back to him and the People once more had their enemy to worry about. It was him who helped the People stop a corrupt leader in the years that followed though.

* * *

**Artemis & Ashling Fowl: A Psychological Assessment**

**from "Fowl Siblings"**

_by Prof. J. Argon, Brotherhood of Psychologists_

_Commissioned by the Lower Elements Police_

At such a tender age of two, the human, and one of our subjects, Ashling Fowl learned of the People. She was far too innocent and young to use the information for exploitation though.

It is believed that even her composed criminal brother, Artemis Fowl, had a soft spot for the younger Fowl. As such, she was perfect ransom for Councilman Elmer Gauthier to use against Artemis and his reacquired memories.

But first, this is a carefully compiled account of how Artemis regained his memories of the People.

* * *

A/N: Please review, oh kind person! 


	2. Divided

**Who I Am**

_By: ChocolateEclar_

Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis (though I'd like to) or Holly or Foaly or Root or the rest of the LEP or Butler or Juliet or Mulch or… Yeah, you get the idea.

Claimer: I do own wittle Ashling though, so don't steal!

* * *

**_Part 1:_**

**_MEMORY_**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Divided**

**Ireland, Fowl Manor**

Artemis Fowl the Second's eyes shot open as he awoke from slumbering on his bed. Staring wide-eyed at the canopy above his head, he tried to gather his thoughts. One word sprang to mind. _Leprechaun_. That made no sense though. What had he dreamed that had fashioned such a random word from the fairy tales of youth?

Glancing at the clock at his bedside, he frowned. It was nearly dawn. There was a stillness in the air that Butler would have said was the "calm before the storm" if he had been in that room. Artemis did not believe in that unpractical nonsense though. There was nothing wrong. It was just another ordinary day in the life of a criminal teenager. That was strange in itself without any more oddities.

Artemis went into the bathroom out of impulse and studied his reflection in the mirror over the sink. Instinct told him something was missing. A gold coin on a cord around his neck appeared in his mind's eye as quickly as it vanished a second later.

Washing his face, the fact that he discovered a mirrored lens in each of his eyes the next instant did not ease his peace of mind any. In reality, he then went to talk with Butler. These were just too many rarities to be normal coincidence, and, besides, no one toyed with Artemis Fowl.

* * *

**E1 Tara, Shuttle 387; Destination – The Lower Elements, Haven City **

No, she didn't care one bit about _him_. These tears were just for…_joy_. Oh yeah, that was right. If Captain Holly Short hadn't been in public, she would have thrown something. Instead, she bit her lip and frowned at her boots. _D'Arvit_. She couldn't deny it. She would miss the People's enemy, Artemis Fowl, but she wasn't about to go against the Council and help the Mud Boy.

"Good riddance," grumbled Holly out loud. She scowled at the strange looks the elfin couple sitting across from her shot her way. Shrugging, she couldn't help but think back.

_"If you take away the memories and influences of the People, I might become that person again. Is that what you really want?"_

Holly sighed. No, she thought, that's not what I want…

* * *

**The Lower Elements, Haven City, Police Plaza, Operations Booth**

_"Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way."_

_William James stated that. Let us assume he was correct, then what of me? Am I simply just using my brain to come up with more unusual solutions than the norm? Or is he wrong, and I am more unique than he implies?_

_At times, I doubt that._

Foaly studied the cryptic train of thought. It was a section of what he had copied from Artemis Fowl the Second's head. Munching on a carrot, it both amused and amazed the centaur the way this Mud Boy thought.

Foaly checked the date this thought had been made on the bottom of his computer screen. Nearly choking, Foaly reread the date. The Gnommish calendar was different than the Roman one commonly used by humans. It was composed of still three hundred and sixty five days with twelve months, but instead it had different years because of the age of their civilization. The screen proclaimed: _September the 4th, 8079._ It was approximately eight years ago, making Artemis only eight-years-old.

Pretty darn advanced for a Mud Boy, thought Foaly.

* * *

**Haven City, Police Plaza; Two Years and Six Months Later**

Commander Julius Root was not pleased. It was mostly because of Mulch Diggums, a convict no more. He had fought to lock Mulch away for a little over two years. And for nothing. The search warrant had been all the evidence Mulch's lawyer had needed to free him of all charges. Now, the dwarf had been free for a month. It should have been long enough for him to get in trouble, but Mulch was being strangely within the law. It did not bode well with Root at all.

Things could be worse, he mused. Artemis Fowl the Second could be broadcasting the existence of faeries on a human morning news show. Instead, according to the latest reports from the Recon captains, Artemis was attending college in between illegal business deals. These were no concern to the LEP. If Artemis wanted to control the human world, it was no problem with the people belowground.

As Foaly reminded Root that morning, "The Mud Boy is sixteen tomorrow, Julius." Root had snapped back, more about being called by his first name than for being informed about an insignificant human.

Insignificant was not the right word to describe Artemis Fowl the Second though. More like, dangerous. If he ever remembered the people, there was sure to be trouble in Haven.

* * *

**Fowl Manor, Artemis Fowl II's Study**

Artemis Fowl felt rather as if he were being haunted. It wasn't by the dead either. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he winced as Juliet attempted to stop Artemis's two-year-old sister from knocking over one of five of his laptops. The fact that he was having difficulty sleeping did not improve his mood any. If he would allow himself to, he would have pulled at his hair and screamed; instead, he firmly commanded, "Ashling, come here."

Little Ashling Fowl – who was only up to Juliet's knee as she bounced over to her brother – was already on her way to picking up on Artemis's habits. She could lie to their parents instantly and effectively and spoke two common Irish languages – Irish and English – and Spanish in a broken sort of way. Butler, Juliet's older brother and bodyguard of Artemis, could tell it amused his young master when Ashling used both Irish and Spanish in the same sentence.

Otherwise, Ashling was very different than her big brother. She was growing up in a more normal setting than Artemis had. While at age two Artemis had been shunned by his father for delighting in nursery rhymes, Ashling was encouraged and cooed at by both parents. It almost bothered Artemis. Almost.

Ashling came and stood at her full tiny two feet in height before Artemis, whose thoughts were elsewhere. The dreams were making it difficult to concentrate. Redheaded women, hazel eyes, centaurs, trolls, and gold filled his thoughts night and day. What did all of it mean? Was he remembering some tiresome fairy tale his mother had read to him, as a child, even though he had needed no help?

When Ashling leaned on her tiptoes at his right elbow and jabbed him in the forehead, Artemis was forced back into the present. Butler was peering at him strangely. It was not common for the sixteen-year-old to lose focus. Something was wrong.

Artemis pushed down a weary sigh and turned to Ashling. She was not so unlike him in appearance with the same dark hair and blue eyes. "Not to touch the computers, Arty?" queried Ashling.

She was clever. She knew why her brother was annoyed with her, but had difficulty putting it into words still.

Artemis understood though. "Yes, Ashling. Do not touch them."

Ashling nodded and said to Juliet, "We play outside then?"

Giggling, Juliet answered, "Sure, Ling-Ling."

Ling-Ling? Such a nickname for a fellow Fowl exasperated Artemis slightly. Scowling, he turned back to his computer. It was time to get back to work.

* * *

**Outside Fowl Manor**

The following day, Captain Trouble Kelp never wished so much that he wasn't one of the captains assigned to monitor Fowl Manor as on the day of the swelteringly warm summer solstice. It was a relatively dull job, but one that could be dangerous if a two-year-old Miss Fowl was in the front yard with Butler or Juliet hovering at attention nearby. The hyper toddler would run across the lawn, often bouncing a bright red ball that, if you weren't paying attention, could knock you out if you were perched low enough in the sky.

As for little Ashling Fowl's brother, he was rarely found outside. The sixteen-year-old still had a pallid complexion, but his raven-black tresses were a bit longer, curling over his ears and just below the nape of his neck in the back. He was frequently discovered by the LEP in the summer, sitting before a computer, a crisp white shirt on while his blue school jacket had been thrown over the back of another chair.

At times, the teenage criminal could be observed with Ashling dozing in his lap or irritatingly jumping up and down behind him as he sat at his computer. He would rarely raise his voice to the tot when she was being irksome, preferring to ignore her chatter instead.

As for the LEPrecon, there were twelve captains, all of which took turns analyzing Artemis once a week. Captain Holly Short had chosen to be the last of the dozen to visit young Master Fowl each round. It was a peculiar feeling indeed to see Artemis with tiny Ashling, though, Holly reasoned, he also was definitely getting certain memories back. She could tell by the way he seemed to know when she was there. He would pause and glance behind him for no reason and sometimes stared right at where she floated invisibly. All he could see was a faint heat haze, but it was enough to rouse his suspicions.

Holly had a bit of affection for Artemis's little sister. She was about a foot shorter than Holly's three feet and looked very much like a short, female Artemis. Holly would sometimes hover outside the tiny girl's window and watch her play with an assortment of Play Dough and one doll. With the thick Play Dough, she would make little figures and settings – all with her hands and a toothpick. One time, Ashling created a miniature sculpture of Artemis with the substance. It even had his vampire smirk created with orange Play Dough.

The one doll she played with adorned a dress made of fine pink silk and lace with long russet hair that framed her face. Ashling always sat Lunetta down beside her in a wooden chair while she sculpted.

Captain Collins claimed he witnessed Ashling actually tinkering with controls on the back of the toy. When Commander Root asked him why he was observing a child instead of his target watch, Collins replied that Ashling was important to the case.

Trouble, as he hovered in the front yard, had to agree. There was something unique about this human child. Her intelligence was noticeable already and, if he knew anything about siblings, Trouble had a feeling that Artemis Fowl actually cared for his sister.

Just as Trouble began to wonder if the day could get any warmer and why Foaly had given him a suit with the thermal coolers broken, a little Mud Girl's cry rang out, "_Can't go, Arty!_"

And then, Butler appeared, opening the door for the two young Fowls. Sixteen-year-old Artemis was trailed by a complaining Ashling. "_Arrrrrty!_" whined little Ashling.

"I'll be overseas for two days," Artemis explained, "surely you can endure that long devoid of me."

Unfazed by the vocabulary of her brother, Ashling huffed, "Then, you better bring me some'in'."

Artemis gave Ashling his vampire smirk. "Of course." He bent down to allow the two-year-old to give him a peck on the cheek before smoothing his tie and climbing into the Fowl's Bentley Arnage Red Label.

Little Ashling watched Butler drive away with sigh. Why did he have to leave on his birthday anyway?

* * *

**Haven City, Police Plaza, Simulation Chamber 87**

It was not uncommon to see Captain Holly Short shooting her Neutrino 3000 – a new gun test model of Foaly's – in the practice room of Police Plaza. Although her aim was one of the best on the force, Holly found more and more it was the only thing to keep her busy. There was no one for her to visit. She had no desire to join Foaly in the Operations Booth just for company. It would only lead to boredom. She also had no girl friends to go to Spud's Spud Emporium with for greasy fries, lumpy milk shakes, and mystery meat. If anything, sometimes the other eleven captains and her had lunch in the Police Plaza cafeteria together or dinner at the Mermaid – a refined restaurant filled with seafood imported from Atlantis.

On Artemis Fowl's birthday, a day that only made Holly irritable at best, she was shooting at a small life-size pixie hologram, darting about. It took one shot to bring the annoying creature down, per usual. Holly pulled off her helmet and said, "End simulation." Her cropped auburn hair was slick with sweat. She had been working in the room for a good six hours, trying to avoid Foaly. She knew he would just remind her of the date. She was adorned in her usual dull-green jumpsuit that zipped up to her chin. It was standard LEP uniform after all.

She glanced at the wall to see a digital display blinking the time back at her. She had fifteen minutes to get to the conference room if she wanted to hear the weekly Artemis Fowl report. "D'Arvit!" she grumbled, hurriedly exiting and rushing down the hallway. The conference room was all the way on the other side of the building. Holly arrived with five minutes to spare. She fixed her helmet under her arm and sat down among ten of the other captains, awaiting Root, Foaly, and the week's reporter, Trouble, to arrive.

All three arrived together. It was obvious from Root's beet red complexion and Foaly's pleased grin that the centaur was pushing the commander's buttons. Trouble rested his helmet on the table. He was directly across from Root at his end of the table. Holly was seated to Root's right, waiting.

"All right, give them the report, Captain Kelp," barked Root. Foaly smirked triumphantly from his position on Root's left. Holly just rolled her hazel eyes at him.

"Two hours before dawn, I arrived at Fowl Manor under cover of shield and darkness," Trouble stated professionally. "The only occupant of the house awake was the target watch, Artemis Fowl the Second. I studied his movements from the window of the room presumed to be his study. He was apparently working on another business deal – this one with the company Microsoft for a program of his creation. It was unclear as to what he was selling them, but I presumed it was another version of his software that diverts funds from any bank.

"At an hour before dawn," Trouble continued, "Ashling Fowl awoke and pestered the target watch about his apparent trip beginning at twenty minutes before dawn. He left as he planned anyway with the bodyguard, Butler."

"Thank you, Kelp," Root boomed. "Any comments, captains? No? Good. Let's discuss more important matters."

* * *

**Four Miles Outside Dublin, Ireland**

All business now, it was hard to believe Artemis was the same person who had allowed his sister to give him a little kiss only a few hours before. Artemis shut his eyes. His composure was flawless and yet, as Butler glanced at his young friend's reflection in his rearview mirror, he could have sworn he saw the faintest fatigue.

Things had been going strangely though. Ever since they had showed an expert on lenses in Limerick the mirrored contact lenses Artemis had found, everything had been like this. The man had claimed Butler _himself_ had requested the creation of the lenses. Impossible unless he somehow had been brainwashed.

Artemis wouldn't admit it, but it was then that the first really tiring dream had occurred. He had seen a woman with auburn hair yelling at him. At first, he had unconsciously smirked before realizing what he was doing. What was so amusing? He didn't even know who this person was!

No matter. He had more important things to ponder, like his latest business deal. Oh, the Patricia Emerald would be simple to _pretend_ to steal. It was too much trouble to steal the big rock. Better to pull a few tricks. The ransom money would pay nicely for Ashling's tuition.

And his future project recovering a certain golden book.

* * *

A/N: Please tell me what you think in a review! 


	3. Emerald Deception

****

Who I Am

_By: ChocolateEclar_

Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis (though I'd like to) or Holly or Foaly or Root or the rest of the LEP or Butler or Juliet or Mulch or… Yeah, you get the idea.

Claimer: But I do own Ashling!

**To Shelma, a.w.g, neutralgal, and plughole:** Thanks for the reviews.

**To sabouki:** I love Ashling too. Thanks for reviewing.

**To sara:** The pairings are just Holly/Artemis as far as I've planned, but that won't be until the end of Part One. So, probably 4 or 5 chapters from now. Part Two will be much longer.

**To Artemis Obscure:** I e-mailed you my response…

**To Miss General Bob:** Yeah, Ashling is sweet. Too bad I'm going to harm my poor little character… Thanks for the review.

**To Barbie Emily:** Hey, fellow Emily. You know I'm older though. LOL. Arty is definitely the coolest evil teenager. Thanks for reviewing. Hope you like this…

**To Amy Shadows:** You're right about original characters. That's why I'm staying as far away from them as possible…with the exception of the main villain in Part Two and Ashling. Thanks a bunch.**__**

**Chapter 2: Emerald Deception**

****

**American Museum of Natural History, New York City**

In the home of the Patricia Emerald, a massive stone of six hundred and thirty-two carats, Artemis now sat in a rented limousine with tined windows in the museum's parking lot. Central Park West and 79th Street were just beginning to become busy as Butler waited in the front seat for Artemis to be ready. The teenager glanced at his watch to see the second hand pass the twelve, signaling nine AM. The museum would open in an hour. They would be done long before then.

Logging on his laptop, he opened a hacking program of his own design. To save time, he had hacked into the museum security system before he had left just before dawn that morning. To enter the security system, he snuck in through a computer backdoor he had left for himself. Now, just to loop three cameras and switch off a laser. The rest was up to physically switching the emerald with a temporary hologram projecting through a nearby security camera. The real Patricia Emerald would be hidden right under everyone's noses – in a ceramic pot filled with flowers on the other end of the exhibit.

To get the emerald there, all they had to do was haul the stone there. It was not as complicated as Butler supposed it was going to be. Of course, there's no use in doubting Artemis Fowl, so he followed Artemis to a side door where Artemis hit a key on his computer and the electronic lock clicked open. The camera trained on the door was one of the three stuck in a loop.

Artemis and Butler left a ransom e-mail signed with the alias Apollo Fair in the curator's inbox and arrived back in the airport in Dublin via another plane trip just before lunchtime. Ashling and Juliet covered for them in the meantime.

* * *

**Fowl Manor**

Ashling came from a line of Aisling Catriona Fowls. Although her parents had chosen to anglicize her first name, Ashling was still considered Aisling the Fourth. Though she did not show it, it rather annoyed her in her teenage years to be referred as this by an elderly businessman and friend of her father. Even in her younger years though, Ashling was known for staying calm when under pressure.

That was why she was needed in convincing Artemis Senior and Angeline Fowl. Juliet was not enough alone in this case.

Juliet, who was in a stage of her life where she was experimenting with hair color, entered Ashling's bedroom with red highlights in her blonde hair. Ashling looked up from her position on her window seat and said, "What time?"

"Nearly eight thirty," explained Juliet. "Butler called to say they had just arrived in NYC."

Nodding, Ashling said, "Mother is just up. Father has for an hour. Breakfast now?"

"If you're ready," said Juliet, grinning slightly.

It took five minutes for the girls to reach the dinning room where Angeline and Artemis Senior awaited breakfast. Ashling was first. "Father? Mother?" she chirped.

"There you both are," said Angeline. "Where are Arty and Butler then? They're usually both here so early. We need to give our birthday boy his presents."

Ashling smirked. Arty would have been peeved to be talked about as if he were a child… Your turn, Jules.

"Oh, Butler and Artemis told me to let you know they were going to do some research in the library in Dublin," Juliet replied.

"Yep, yep," cooed Ashling. "Arty's bringing me some of the special…thingies he likes there."

"You mean the computer store?" questioned Artemis Senior skeptically. "He's bringing you back something from a computer store?"

"Yep," recovered Ashling. "You know, I want that pony game."

"But on his birthday?" asked Angeline.

"You know Artemis, Mrs. Fowl, he's not one for sentiments like that."

That one worked. Sighing resignedly, Angeline nodded. Artemis Senior nodded. "When will they be back then?" he queried. The questions now were not so dubious and prodding.

Both girls let out a relieved inward breath.

* * *

"You just had to create your own plan, didn't you, ladies?" stated Artemis. There was no anger – just mild exasperation. Juliet and Ashling had greeted Butler and Artemis at the backdoor. "And such an appalling plan at that."

"Mother's looking to give you your present," said Ashling.

"As expected," Artemis replied. "What is it this year? A toy? Some outdated equipment?"

"C'mon, Arty, you find out _now_," Ashling exclaimed excitedly.

Butler and Juliet watched the exchange with amusement. Siblings.

* * *

**Operations Booth**

Commander Root stepped into the room. Foaly could already tell he was in a fowler mood than usual. He had seen him storming all the way to the Operations Booth through the cameras linked electronically to his computer. Foaly was sure it wasn't his fault this time though. He hadn't asked for a pay raise in a week.

"Yes, Julius?" said Foaly cheerfully, as Root stomped in.

A glower was his only initial response. Then, Root grumbled, "Prepare for a Recon mission, ponyboy."

"What is it this time? Another bunch of idiotic goblins in the South end of Haven?" Foaly queried.

"Unfortunately not," huffed Root. "The Patricia Emerald was stolen, and the Council wants it returned to the Mud Man museum it was in."

"Oh, that old rock," said Foaly, disappointed and turning back to his keyboard. It was nothing important then.

"Yes, that rock," huffed Root. "You know very well what it does."

"It just acts as an impenetrable shield against lasers is all," said Foaly. "And that's special compared to my shields because…?"

"Because it is considered sacred among the Jade Nation and you know how they are," Root replied.

Foaly grimaced. Of course. The Jade Nation was known for their extreme tactics at spreading their want for humans and the People to reunite. They had caused more mindwipes than the amount of times Mulch Diggums had broken into a dwelling of any kind. And that was saying something. The LEP had mindwiped the entire city of Los Angeles once because of the organization.

If the Jade Nation found out the stone they had forced the Council to put in a human museum, under penalty of going on CNN and letting out the People's secrets, was lost, there would be havoc.

"So, do we know who stole the emerald?" sighed Foaly.

"That's the worst part."

"There's a worse part?"

"Considering Artemis Fowl is the one who stole the stone, it'd say yes," Root grumbled.

All Foaly could do was groan. Everything always led to that Mud Boy.

* * *

**Dublin, Ireland**

There was an extremely short man, at table six in the Envious Beauty Café, who was drinking Irish spring water and picking beetles from his beard. If the manager, Henry Mor, didn't do something soon, he would lose a lot of customers. Very rich ones included.

"Sir," he pleaded, "I really must ask you to leave."

"I'll gladly leave," the man sniffed, offended. "This water is horrible anyway. "Too many concrete particles. Not enough clay."

Henry Mor frowned and said, "This way, sir."

As he stepped out of the restaurant, Mulch Diggums turned around and asked, "You wouldn't happen to know which way is Fowl Manor, would you?"

* * *

**LEP Invisi-Tent, Outside Fowl Manor**

"Just get the rock and leave. Just get the rock and leave. Just…" mumbled Holly to herself. It was roughly an hour passed noon, and all of the fairies were waiting for the sun to set so they could commence operations. "Foaly," Holly groaned, "it would be easier to deal with the Jade Nation."

Laughing, the centaur replied, "That exact argument was rejected by the Council when Julius proposed it. They said they'd rather deal with a teenage Mud Boy than a couple thousand crazed sprites and elves."

"_Wonderful_," mumbled Holly with a grimace.

* * *

**Fowl Manor**

"Wonderful," Artemis said impassively. "It's wonderful, Mother."

"Don't sound so enthused, Arty," Angeline said. "Go on and pet him."

Sitting on the leather chair beside Angeline was a small, vicious looking kitten with black fur and green eyes.

"Don't worry," whispered Artemis Senior in his son's ear. "The front claws have been removed."

Reassuring, Artemis thought. He did not like the look of this new pet. When he had been perhaps four or five years old, he had been given a little German Shepherd puppy. Then, it had bitten Butler's uncle. Thus, no more puppy.

The teenager cautiously stuck out one pale hand towards the cat's nose to allow his scent to be acknowledged. When the kitten had licked his knuckle, he went to rub its neck, only to receive a hiss and a paw to his hand.

"Just wonderful," grumbled Artemis.

Ashling cringed as the kitten hopped onto the armrest of the chair and bit her brother's hand. To break the silence, she asked, "His name, Arty?"

"Brutus," answered Artemis with a half-smile. _Et tu Bruté?_ He nearly sighed aloud. What was he doing making jokes?

* * *

**Outside Fowl Manor**

Perched atop the massive wall surrounding the manor were four of the twelve Recon captains. The fifth above ground was still in the tent taking final orders from Commander Root.

"I do not want this to get out of hand, Holly," barked Root. "No memory wipes. Just simple get in, get the emerald, get out. Got that?"

"Yes, sir," sighed Holly. The sun was just disappearing below the horizon as she flew up to join the others.

"All right," hollered Root in everyone's helmet comm.'s. "Let's review. We've already established that only Captain Short has permission to enter since Fowl made it so that once he was mindwiped only she would be allowed in. So she will get in first, while you all use scanners to find the emerald from outside. When the rock is found, Captain Short will carry the stone out. Now, get to work."

Holly flew straight off the wall towards an open window, while the other four spread out around the area. Entering a spacious room, Holly hovered for a moment to observe her surroundings.

She was in Angeline Fowl's private room. Her vanity, mirror, and makeup were neatly placed with photographs on the walls. Holly paused at the pictures. A tiny four-year-old version of Artemis, in a blue school blazer and tie, was glaring at her as if to say, "I don't want to be here!" while Ashling was pictured perched on a swing with a little red dress and fancy white dress shoes. Holy could just picture the scene that must have been involved to seat a six-year-old Artemis on the back of a donkey in India. It was blatant to her the fowl mood the boy was in by his scowl and posture. Artemis had much more control over his emotions now, but she could still see when he was unhappy.

"Better move it, Holly," Foaly hissed in her ear. Holly scowled and continued out into the hallway. She flew down a staircase and passed by the drawing room on the first floor. Artemis Fowl the Second was reading a thick, aged novel and trying to ignore the kitten batting at his ankles.

Holly flinched. It was then that the kitten looked up and hissed in her direction. _D'Arvit._ Just because only rats could actually see shielded fairies, didn't mean other animals with keen senses couldn't detect them. Holly knew what was coming next. Artemis turned his eyes from the pages of the book to the doorway. There was no one there to be seen, but that did not mean no one was there in reality.

Artemis calmly reached under the arm of his chair and pressed the button on a tiny plastic, raindrop-size device. "Get back!" Foaly hissed too late in Holly's ear. Static buzzed in her ears as the floor released a tiny electric charge. It would have been enough to knock out a human, but Holly's magic healed herself.

When Artemis's eyes widened, Holly paused in removing her smoking helmet. Artemis let out a slight groan before his pupils contracted and he shut his eyes quickly. He could see her…

One word slipped from his mouth. "Holly."

The elf clenched her hands around her helmet. "Oh, D'Arvit."

It was agonizing at first. Uncovering the hidden parts of his mind was not something Artemis would have liked to repeat. Little flecks of remembrance came at first – like the first drops of rainfall. And then, it began to pour.

One memory made him laugh bitterly though. "I don't like lollipops." He would have chuckled at the absolute intolerable way he had uttered that sentence for quite some time, if he had not realized who was glaring and cursing him just a few feet away.

"Captain," Artemis mocked, standing up.

"I'll kill you," growled Holly. "_Do you have to do these things to me? I'm going to lose my job! _What do you remember anyway?"

Sighing, Artemis replied, "Everything of course, Captain. Now, this is not my fault. I had an electric field installed in the foundation of the manor, which I could use intermittently, after receiving the notion I was being watched. I had no idea I would catch an elf with it though."

"No, no, no," Holly was mumbling.

"I am sorry, Holly, but I really did not plan this," Artemis said, trying not to smirk. "I had other ways of returning my memory in mind."

"Oh yes, of course," hissed Holly. "But that would mean you lied under the _mesmer_!"

Artemis gave her an almost sheepish, vampire smile. Holly groaned and through her hands up. "Do I even want to know how you did that? No! I don't. I need to get out of this mess! Stop grinning like that, or I'll go with my first plan of killing you!"

Artemis made more of an effort to control his features as he stated, "First off then, it has been quite a long time."

"Not long enough," Holly interrupted.

Ignoring her, Artemis continued, "Why are you here? I have done nothing to the fairies…although I have been scheming a new way to get the Book."

Holly advanced on him furiously. "Shut it, Mud Boy. So help me, I'll…"

"I have a plan, if you need one either way," said Artemis. Holly glowered up at him. He had grown quite a bit by human standards. He was almost six feet tall with slightly longer hair. He sat back down on his chair, so that they were now level. The kitten mewed at Holly's feet and wound over her legs. It was rather as if the master had charmed the beast to convince her of his plan.

She didn't have a job if this continued anyway, so what did she have to lose?

Moaning, Holly rolled her eyes. I'm going to regret this, she thought. "Okay," she said aloud. "What do you have in mind? Make it quick, Mud Boy." Artemis just gave her his patent smirk.

* * *

**Outside Fowl Manor**

"Now, where are you going, Mud – er – kid?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Ashling, sneaking around a tree. "I just going…I mean…" she trailed off.

"I see," said the short man at the gates. "Do you think you could let me in, wherever you're going?"

"Not supposed to," grumbled Ashling distrustfully.

"C'mon, kid," grumbled the man.

"Nah uh," Ashling persisted.

"I'll tell someone you're sneaking around alone," Mulch threatened.

Ashling paused for a moment before protesting, "You can't do that. You out there."

"Okay, okay," said the man exasperatedly, while scratching his beard. "I'd rather do this the easy way, so let's start over. I'm Mulch Diggums."

"I'm Ashling Fowl," replied the petite child, smiling with her little teeth.

Ah, a Fowl, thought Mulch. Of course. "Then, your brother is Artemis Fowl?" he asked with a grin.

"Uh huh," answered Ashling.

"Good," said the dwarf. "So, Ashling, why don't you go get Butler to search me all he likes and ask your brother if I can come in?"

* * *

A/N: Review! (Oh yeah, I am so creative with these author's notes.) 


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